


When Words Fail, Music Speaks

by silver_wolf1249



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Caring!Team, Depressed!Ryouma, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Minor Angst, Ryouma is a Violin Prodigy, Song Lyrics, Team Dynamics, Team Feels, and a Great Singer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 09:03:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5158022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_wolf1249/pseuds/silver_wolf1249
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryoma is depressed. All of his teammates don't understand that he doesn't want to go to the US Open and miss out on Nationals with everyone. So he skips school the next day, and thinks about it. He decides to pick up his violin and express his feelings and thoughts into song. what he doesn't know is that his father yelled at his teammates for making his son sad and forced them to go and see him. What happens when his teammates find out Ryoma's hidden talent and thoughts? This is placed during the time where he gets an invitation to the US Open. Horrible summary, but please read!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in the fandom, and I really wanted to do something where Ryoma was really good at playing the violin. Somehow, this showed up. Hope you like it!

Ryoma Echizen wants to punch someone, something, anything. He was just so angry. He had just had a fight with his team just because they wanted him to leave to go to the US Open. But he didn’t want to go, he wanted to go to Nationals with them. Couldn’t his teammates understand that? Besides, he had no interest in going back to America for some stupid competition, he wanted to face off against his old and new opponents in Nationals. He wondered briefly if Atobe or Sanada-san had improved since last time. Then he went back to what his so-called friends had told him. All of them had said that he should go to the US Open, and when he said he wouldn’t, they all looked disappointed in him. 

He hated that,especially when buchou told him he’d be missing out on a great opportunity. If he went, he would be missing a great opportunity here too, because the third years were going to graduate soon. And then Momo-senpai had almost punched him during their match. He was just so frustrated! Why couldn’t his sempais understand that he didn’t want to go to the US Open because deep inside he knew that he was afraid. Afraid of what would happen and afraid that he wouldn’t even get past the preliminaries. After all, he was still only a freshman in middle school. Even if he was good he couldn’t compare to people who spent more time than him playing, with more experience and strength than his still developing body had. He punched the wall in front of him, and hissed in pain when his fist made contact. Good thing it was his right hand, it wouldn’t do for a tennis player to injure his dominant hand. 

He decided punching the wall of his bedroom as not the best idea, and looked at the corner of the room, where a small instrument case was placed. He wished his friends were here to help him, help him with this internal fear. But he would never admit it out loud. He was cocky, that was his nature. Or that’s what his teammates thought anyway. They never could have guessed that it was just a shield that Ryoma created so no one could be able to get into his heart. But they had managed to do so,and now Ryoma’s heart ached because of it. _Damn it all,_ he thought _how did they manage to make a place in my heart, when I tried so hard for people to stay out._ He gritted his teeth, and moved towards the instrument case. He opened the case, and inside was a sleek, black electric violin. He plugged it into a speaker and set up the rest of the stuff that he had rummaged for that he had stuffed in the back of his closet when he had moved to Japan. 

When Ryoma was maybe five or six,his mother brought him to an orchestra concert. There he fell in love with the violin. It was just so expressive and full of emotion, and he loved that. To Ryoma, who knew he was bad with words and expressing emotions, this was a way he could show his true emotions. He begged his parents if he could learn the instrument that had captured his heart, and while his mother readily agreed, his father was a bit harder to convince. Well, until his mother glared at him, and Ryoma promised he would still play tennis. As a year or two later showed, he was also a prodigy in the violin, and when he turned ten, his father, instead of buying more tennis stuff, had bought him an electric violin. He informed Ryoma that he would have to learn how to use it himself, then shyly said that once he did learn it, it wouldn’t be that bad if he played it in front of the family every once in awhile.

Ryoma was ecstatic, and enthusiastically tried to learn every crook and cranny that this new instrument could provide. But after moving to Japan,so many things had happened so quickly that Ryoma never had any time to pick it up and just play it. He looked at the time, 1:00 PM. His teammates were probably wondering why he wasn’t in school. His heart clenched. It was probably better this way, he thought, they all want me to leave anyway. He remembered a song he had heard on the radio once in America, and decided that it was a fitting song to play. He first played around with the violin a bit to get the feeling back in his hands. Then he used garage band to make some piano and guitar music to go along with the song. He picked up the violin and looked for the pedals he planned to use. He put one near his right foot, the other near his left. He started the garage band, and lifted his violin and started playing. His right foot rhythmically stepped on the pedal, making a nice drum beat. _Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor. Reaching for the phone 'cause I can't fight it anymore._ Ryoma briefly looked at his phone, which was sitting on his desk. Usually it was always buzzing, filled with messages from his teammates. Now it was still, with zero messages. Ryoma wasn’t sure if he felt hurt, annoyed, or thankful he didn’t have to check his phone every five minutes. A mix of both, he decided.

 _And I wonder if I ever cross your mind? For me it happens all the time._ He hated to admit it, but he always thought of his teammates one way or another. For example, if his dad brought home sushi, he thought about Kawamura-senpai. When he saw a younger and older brother together, he thought of Fuji-senpai and his brother. But he doubted they thought about him much. After all, he had only recently met them, and in their eyes, he as just a cocky freshman that was good at tennis.

 _It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now. Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now. And I don't know how I can do without. I just need you now._ He glanced at the clock again, it read 1:15. How coincidental can that be? he wondered. He looked around him. A simple bedroom, no posters, nothing that really made it seem lived in. If Ryoma didn’t live here, he would’ve thought it was a guest bedroom that was sometimes used as a storage space. He never really had any friends before moving to Japan. Now that he had them, he finally realized how lonely he had been. He wished his friends were here. Momo-senpai and Kaidou-senpai would be arguing over something or other. Inui-senpai would be writing down data, and Kikumaru-senpai would be clinging on someone. Kawamura-senpai would be shouting “Burning!” in the background while Fuji-senpai, Ooishi-senpai, and Tezuka buchou watched over them. He felt his eyes prickle. He wasn’t...tearing up, was he? He hasn’t cried since he was seven, and he had lost at a beginner's violin competition. He remembered he was so close to having first place, before nerves got to him and he messed up.

 _Another shot of whiskey, can't stop looking at the door. Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before._ Ryoma’s bow swished over the strings as he looked haphazardly at his door, wishing yet knowing that his teammates would not be behind the door looking to see if he was alright. It just wasn’t likely. And after he had just warmed up to them. They gave him an adventure and a new view on the world that he’s never had before. When he was with them, he actually felt happy, and he hasn’t felt truly happy for a long time.

 _And I wonder if I ever cross your mind? For me it happens all the time. It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now. Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now. And I don't know how I can do without. I just need you now. Oh, whoa Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all._ Ryoma felt a bit hurt. No, more like betrayed. He had trusted them to appreciate and agree with his decision to stay, and when they didn’t, it felt heart breaking. It hurt that his so-called teammates, no, his so-called friends would disagree with his decision. It was his life anyway. He was fine before they came, and if they leave them he’ll be fine. He noticed the sour taste in his mouth as he sang, so he snapped himself out of it and tried to put all of his bottled emotions into this song. His good and bad memories he’s had with his Seigaku teammates. His bow danced and swayed on the violin as he tapped his foot to the beat.

 _It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now. And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now. And I don't know how I can do without. I just need you now I just need you now. Oh, baby, I need you now._ He stopped singing as the music faded off. He lowered his bow and placed that and the violin on his desk next to his phone. He felt his cheeks becoming wet, and he grabbed a mirror. He was...crying. After so many years he was crying. He chuckled a bit, that soon turned into maniacal laughter. “Only those guys could make me like this.” he said as his laughter subsided. He leaned on the wall thinking about his situation until he crumpled to the ground with his knees pulled in while wrapping his hands around them. He was still crying. “Damn it all.” he muttered, not noticing a large group of people listening and peeking in through a crack in the door.


	2. Processional

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team goes to apologize to Ryoma, but not without Najiro's help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so sorry this is so late. Hope you enjoy!

Slam! Echizen Nanjiro raised his head as he heard his son slam the door shut and stomped towards him, the expression on his face furious. _Uh oh._ Nanjiro thought, _I’m in big trouble. Was it because of the fact that he entered Ryoma into the US Open without telling him, (well, technically he did...but…), or maybe he found his secret stash of you know what and wanted to yell at him again about it._ He peeked at Ryoma again, and decided it was the first one. “So, what’s up?” he asked, hoping to be casual about it.

“What’s up?” Ryoma nearly screamed at him, “You entered me into the US Open without telling me! And because of that, my fri-teammates are all pretty much ditching me and telling me to go! When I said I didn’t want to, Momo-senpai nearly punched me and everyone else looked really disappointed in me! Thanks a lot! Stupid old geezer!” he looked like he was near tears now, and he turned around on his heels quickly before stomping up to his room and slamming the door.

Nanjiro Echizen sat there, completely surprised. He had no idea his way of telling Ryoma to experience the real world of tennis a bit would get such awful results. He knew his son, like him, was awful at feelings, but unlike Nanjiro, who put up the facade of a friendly person and was a playboy for the majority of his life, Ryoma did the exact opposite. He hid behind his chilly mask and pushed others away so that they wouldn’t get close to him, so they couldn’t hurt him when they left, like Ryoga did when he left. The friends he made in Seigaku were probably the first ones he’s ever had, and even Nanjiro knew how awful it must feel to have your friends disagree with you. Speaking of Ryoga, that brat must be somewhere in America right about now. Nanjiro thought if he should go call him and see if Ryoga could help him, then realized how awful the idea was. Ryoga wouldn’t help at all in these kind of situations. He was almost like Nanjiro in this respect, even though they weren’t blood related. He decided to ask his wife, as Rinko was always good at this sort of thing, which was one of the reasons why Nanjiro loved her so much. He got up to go find her, when he found out he didn’t have to, as she was standing at the entrance of the kitchen, where she was making dinner. Her hands were crossed over her chest as she glared a hole through Nanjiro’s face. 

“You messed up big time.” she seethed, as Nanjiro started to look scared and slowly inched backwards, “How could you do that to your own son! You should have asked him first, and if he didn’t want to, he shouldn’t have to go! I don’t care how much experience he needs as a tennis player, he’s still only twelve! He needs a normal life, and _friends_. You know when we were in America he never had any, people always thought he was either too good for them, or thought he looked down on him because of his talent in tennis. And when we moved here, how happy we were when he came home one day talking about how some of his senpais and classmates ate at a restaurant together and that’s why he was late? He finally had friends, which was all we wanted for him because he was always so lonely even though he never showed it. And then you just ruined it for him, just because you want to increase his skill and experience in tennis! He can go to the next US Open, or the one after that, but _no_ , you just had to go and enter him without his permission.” She slowly walked towards him, and Nanjiro backed up until he hit the wall, and Rinko caught up to him.

She poked his chest with her finger and pretty much snarled “You will fix this! You are going over to Seigaku right now to apologize to them how you entered Ryoma without his knowledge or permission, and then make them come back here to apologize to Ryoma.”

She faltered a bit after she mentioned her son, and blanched a bit. “Oh dear,” she cried, “I have to go and see if he’s ok!” and she hurried up the stairs, not even bothering to take off her apron that she was wearing to make dinner. 

Nanjiro took that as his cue to leave and quickly went out and grabbed his bike. He got on and quickly rode to Seigaku Middle School. He turned at the familiar gates and got off, quickly locking up his bike at the bike racks and speedily strode over to the tennis courts, where he heard shouts and balls hitting rackets. He saw all of Ryoma’s “friends” standing together at the side of the tennis courts, talking to Ryuzaki-sensei. The other students were playing games. He saw red as he nearly ran over to the group of people Ryoma had considered friends. “Oi!” he called, and they turned around to look at him, probably wondering why some old man was walking towards them, and why he was so angry.

Only Ryuzaki-sensei knew who he was, and her eyes widened. She’s never seen him so upset before. _This is probably about Ryoma_ she thought, knowing that Nanjiro had probably seen his son that had walked home early with an upset face, and had come here because of it. “Nanjiro,” she said, hoping to calm him down a bit, “what brings you here?”

What she didn’t expect however, was when he bowed down to all of the regulars and shouted out “I’m so sorry!”

That made even the students playing practice games stop and stare at the old guy. They wondered why he had said it, but with a glare from Ryuzaki-sensei, they turned back around to restart their games, all the while attempting to overhear the conversation they knew would be interesting. Ryuzaki turned away for the students, and back to Nanjiro. “Why are you apologizing?” she asked, understandably confused. If anything, it was her regulars that needed to apologize to him. She said that to Nanjiro as he continued to bow, and her regulars were all just standing around, looking confused and quietly conversing about what was going on.

What Nanjiro said later explained a lot of what had happened. “I was the one who entered Ryoma into the US Open, not him.” he said, after he stopped bowing, “I didn’t know that because of it that he would be affected so much. And yes,” he said, glaring at the regulars, , most who wilted under his hard gaze quite a bit, “they indeed do need to apologize to Ryoma. That’s actually why I’m here.”

Momo-senpai spoke up, “Is he ok?”

Nanjiro furiously turned to him, grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him in close. “You! You’re Momoshiro, yes?” and without bothering for an answer,he plowed on, “You of all people had no right to be angry at Ryoma. He didn’t even know he was going, nor did he want to! He wanted to go to Nationals with you, his teammates, no,you all are too close for that. His friends, he wanted to go with his friends.”

Nanjiro looked pained and sad as he let go of Momo-senpai’s shirt as the other upper class men stared in shock at him. “Could you please explain what is going on exactly?” Tezuka asked, wondering if Echizen was alright after he so hurriedly left practice earlier. 

Nanjiro looked solemnly at him, “No,” he near whispered, “I wish I could, but not even I can explain it to you as I don’t have all the details. What I can tell you, however, is a bit about Ryoma and why I’m so angry at you. You see, when we were in America, Ryoma never had any friends. He was always alone, because his talent in tennis and...other things that split him apart from the others in his age group. When he finally met you guys, he was ecstatic for finally meeting people that could be his match. You all got close to him and ended up worming your way into his heart. While he doesn’t show it most of the time, he deeply cares about all of you, and this rebuke that you gave him was...hard on him. How would you feel if your best and first friends told you that they hated you and that you should leave while they went to do something else without you? Well, that’s how Ryoma felt when you told him to go to the US Open. Yes it’s a great opportunity for him, which is why I signed him up in the first place, but his emotional well being is even more important.”

Nanjiro’s solemn face turned fierce as he glared at the team, “Now, all of you other than Ryuzaki ba-san will come with me back to our house and apologize to him and explain what you meant when you told him to go. Oh,” he said as his glare fell upon Momo-senpai once more, “and I will not tolerate any violence in my home, understand?”

The team all looked at one another, and came to an agreement. They followed Nanjiro back to his house, where a worried Rinko stood at the base of the stairs, wringing the hem of her apron. She looked and saw Nanjiro with the team following behind. She glanced thankfully in her husband’s direction before turning to the team and giving them her best If-looks-could-kill-then-this-would glare. The team cowered as she seethed fiercely, “My son is up there crying his eyes out. He hasn’t cried nor needed to since he was seven. You will go up there right now and fix this, understand?”

The team silently nodded in fear as they begun to slowly one-by-one climb the stairs. They begun to hear a voice singing and instrumentals in the background. They wondered if Ryoma was listening to music to drown out everything else until they reached the door. Kikumaru reached out and opened the door a crack, where the other team members joined him to look inside. They were surprised to find that it was actually Echizen who was playing an electric violin as he sang, and music from other instruments coming from his laptop. The song was in English, so most of the didn’t know what he was singing until Inui-senpai explained it, but just seeing and hearing his voice broke the team’s hearts. Momoshiro especially, clenching his fists as he mentally berated himself for making Ryoma so upset. Tears ran down Ryoma’s face as he sang, and the team was disheartened even more as they realized they didn’t know everything about their teammate. Or else they would have known that he was a genius at playing violin as he was at playing tennis. As the song ended and Ryoma lowered the violin, the team promised themselves and Ryoma that they would apologize and try to comfort Ryoma and make him feel better. It was the least that he deserved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment below and tell me what you think and if there's anything I need to fix! (Because let's be honest, I'm not exactly the most detail oriented person since I haven't been able to watch this in forever.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment below if there's anything I can fix because I do not know how an electric violin works or if there's some other problem. Or comment on how you thought about it so far. I'm curious what you think about it. By the way, to everyone who doesn't know, this is I Need You Now by Lady Antebellum.


End file.
